Vanilla fudge swirl ice cream

This vanilla fudge swirl ice cream is a mashup of two of my favorite ice cream makers’ recipes. The base is from Ample Hills Creamery (surprise, surprise), and the fudge is from David Lebovitz.

Yesterday was my baby girl’s 10th birthday. I know I say this every year, but how on earth is she 10?? It doesn’t seem that long ago where she was the size of a kumquat while in my tummy. Now she’s up to my nose, and her foot is almost as big as mine. It’s won’t be long until she’s taller than me.

One thing that Addie has enjoyed with me during our social distancing is helping me in the kitchen. One weekend when my husband was golfing, she and I made some pan-fried pork soup dumplings together. In addition, we also made this ice cream. Addie helped me drizzle the fudge swirl on top of our ice cream layers.

Normally, I would have made a full blown fudge sauce with butter and cream. However, I didn’t have any cream on hand (I used it all up for the ice cream). As an alternative, I found this recipe from David Lebovitz that only uses chocolate to thicken the sauce. I used a bittersweet chocolate, so if you like your sauce more on the sweet side, use semisweet chocolate. I actually liked the contrast between the sweet ice cream base and the bittersweet chocolate sauce. Note that the recipe makes a lot, so you will have a lot of extra sauce left over to eat on its own or to drizzle on whatever makes you happy.

This is a recipe that I will enjoy making time and time again. It’s definitely a classic ice cream flavor that doesn’t get old.

My husband’s rating: 3 out of 5 (he said it needed more contrasting texture, so he preferred an add-in)
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5

Print Recipe

4 from 1 vote

Vanilla fudge swirl ice cream

This fabulous ice cream is easy to make - just make some fudge and add it to your favorite vanilla ice cream base. I used the vanilla base from Ample Hills Creamery and added in a basic fudge recipe from David Lebovitz.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Chilling time8 hours hrs

Total Time8 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Ice Cream

Servings: 1 quart

Author: Eva Bakes

Ingredients

Vanilla ice cream

• ¾ cup organic cane sugar
• ½ cup skim milk powder
• 1 and ⅔ cup whole milk
• 1 and ⅔ cup heavy cream
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate sauce

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup corn syrup
• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate finely chopped

Instructions

Make the ice cream

• Get a large bowl and fill it with ice. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan, mix together the sugar, milk powder, and milk. Whisk until the milk powder dissolves. Then add the cream and mix well.
• Place the egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside.
• Put a fine mesh sieve on top of a large bowl and set aside.
• Turn the stove to medium and clip a candy thermometer to the side. Stir the mixture until it reaches 110 degrees F (45 degrees C).
• Take the saucepan off the stove (but do not turn it off). Pour about 1/2 cup of the milk mixture into the small bowl with the egg yolks. Keep whisking so the eggs don't scramble. Then pour the egg yolks back into the sauce pan and keep stirring.
• Keep heating the mixture until it reaches 165 degrees F (75 degrees C). This will take about 5-10 minutes.
• Pour the mixture into the fine mesh sieve. Remove the sieve and stir the vanilla extract into the custard mixture. Mix well.
• Allow the ice cream mixture to cool in the ice bath before transferring  to the refrigerator to cool completely, at least another 1-2 hours and preferably overnight.

Make the chocolate sauce

• In a small saucepan, mix together the water, cocoa powder and corn syrup together over medium heat. Allow it to come to a boil and then turn the mixture down to low to allow it to simmer another 2-3 minutes. Stir continuously so the mixture is smooth and free of lumps.
• Take the saucepan off the stove and fold in the chopped chocolate. Whisk vigorously until smooth. Allow the fudge to sit for a while (it will thicken beautifully as it sets). Fudge is best served warm.

Assemble the ice cream

• Once the ice cream mixture has completely cooled, take the ice cream custard and churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's directions.
• After the ice cream is churned, alternate adding layers of ice cream and ribbons of fudge and transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for about 8-12 hours before serving.

Notes

Sources: Ice cream base from  Ample Hills Creamery Cookbook by Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna; chocolate sauce from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Cook this on